The VBQAn understated and flavorful bahn mi, Saigon Sisters' VBQ leaves a pleasant aftertaste of barbecued beef, Thai basil and jalapeno. The star of the show is a flaky, chewy French baguette, a supreme vessel for this and other sandwich fillings (pork belly, pork meatball, lamb) on the West Loop Vietnamese restaurant's lunch menu.

As much as Play would love to declare that 2011 is the Year of the Sandwich, as much as we would love to say the thoughtful arrangement of ingredients between bread had fallen out of favor and is suddenly hot Hot HOT in Chicago -- well, let's not be disingenuous. Sandwiches never fall out of favor....

I first became a fan of Michael Taus' food when he opened Zealous in Elmhurst; it was 1993, and Taus was producing French-informed, globally influenced dishes that were masterpieces of clean, harmonious flavors. The best option was his degustation, six courses for $35. Ah, the good old days.

Fortune cookies are the usual way to transmit predictions in Asian restaurants, but at the new Brightwok Kitchen in The Loop (21 E. Adams St., 312-583-0729), the message is spelled out boldly on the wall in chopsticks – 14,000 of them to be exact. It reads: “The Future is Bright.”

It’s gotten to the point where a festival like Lollapalooza, which has taken over Grant Park this weekend, is no longer just for music fans — we have to (happily, may we add) start paying attention to its food.

Belinda Chang is coming back to Chicago. The James Beard Award-winning sommelier, who grew up in Palatine and began her career at Charlie Trotter's, assumes the post of wine director at Maple & Ash, a steakhouse opening in the Gold Coast this summer.

Chicago’s Northeastern roots could always be found if you knew where to look for them (DeKoven Street, famous now for being where the Great Fire started in 1871, is named for John DeKoven, the Connecticut-born financier; Hubbard Street is named for Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, a native Vermonter...

Checking out the music at Lollapalooza, which runs Friday through Sunday in Grant Park, means making tough choices. With dozens of bands divided among multiple stages, it's physically impossible to hear them all, and sometimes two of the bands you most want to see are playing at the same time,...